The Heart of Everything
by choxie-chan
Summary: Athena discovers Iori's being and his past story that has led him to who he is now, based on the KoF: Kyo manga, Pairings: Iori/Athena  Update: this is now a ONESHOT


Pairing: Iori Yagami & Athena Asamiya

Hi people! Jeez...how long has it been that I've been out of Fanfiction?...I even forgot of one of the stories that I was doing..-.- oh nooo...I feel bad that it won't be possible for me to finish up...sorry people if you have read my stuff, but Thank you so much!

Speaking of which! I'm going to write up a KoF fanfic based in a pairing and it's a songfic of course Iori and Athena, with songs by Within Temptation, one of my favorite rock bands of all time. I hope you guys enjoy my short fanfic and please review! I'd like to get feedback on how I'm doing! Thank you! Enjoy! ^_^

The short fanfic is based on the manga "King of Fighters: Kyo"!

DISCLAIMER: I DO NOT OWN ANY OF THE CHARACTERS IN "THE KING OF FIGHTERS" SO THERE IS ABSOLUTELY NO COPYRIGHT INFRIDGEMENTS ATTEMPTED! THANK YOU!

**The Heart of Everything** (A King of Fighters Oneshot Fanfic)

By choxie-chan

"_Is this an Illusion made by Iori's Ki?"_

_Ki, a word meaning Qi, which is the flowing energy... Athena hesitates for a while, but decided to step forward towards the illusion._

"_!" Athena's eyes widen in shock as she finds a little boy with tears streaming down from his own cheeks, the boy was crying, in loneliness and agony, he seemed to be in the need of someone to be his friend, the friend that has a heart with love and comfort, but there was no one that would approach the crying boy. _

_Athena couldn't react at that moment, but then she did not hesitate to walk up closer to the crying boy._

"_Why are you crying?" Athena asks, "Come here" _

_Athena offers her hand to the crying boy, the boy looked up to her._

_But suddenly, a light pulls her away from the crying boy and knocks her out._

_A familiar voice rings through her mind, until she finally awakens._

"Athena! Are you ok? Answer me Athena!"

Kensou panicked as he attended to his fighting partner and crush, but suddenly he sounded angry.

"You...You actually hurt my Athena!" Kensou shouted in anger.

"Hold up Kensou, something's wrong with Athena!" said Kyo.

Iori stood there, startled at the illusion that was made by his own Ki.

"Depressing...We'll finish this fight another day." Says Iori as he leaves.

"_The boy...could that be...?" _Athena's thoughts had blocked her from being completely awake

"Wha...what's wrong, Athena? Are you hurt?" said Kensou.

Athena feels her own tears flowing from her eyes.

"No...it's nothing..." said Athena

" I don't know why...but my heart is full of pain...My tears won't stop flowing"

LATER...

Convinced that Athena is alright, Kensou drops Athena off to her apartment, with her thoughts of Iori's Ki running though her mind

"_So...could it be that Iori had no comfort in his youth?"_ thought Athena.

"_Why...did this happen to him? Why do I feel Iori's pains?" _Athena had never imagined having to have Iori in her mind at that moment.

After changing to her PJ's, she heads to her bedroom to sleep.

"Iori...why do you want to kill Kyo this badly?" asked Athena, as she drifted to her sleep.

Athena then finds herself in a white space...the color is unknown to her...

She hears the same boy sobbing.

"Hello?" yelled Athena.

The boy is still nowhere to be found.

_For the pain and the sorrow  
Caused by my mistakes  
Won't repent to a mortal  
Whom is all to blame?  
Now I know I won't make it  
There will be a time  
We'll get back our freedom  
They can't break what's inside_

Athena kept running through the dream,

She starts getting tired from running to find the boy.

But she did not give up,

Why can't she find the boy?

"Hello? Are you there? Is anyone there?"

She then finds herself at a strange place...

"What? Am I in Feudal Japan?"

"_Sorry this is the only way I can hear from you" _said a man

"What the-? He looks like Kusanagi-san? Athena started to be confused, but she convinced herself to be aware of her surroundngs

"Eh? Isn't he?-"

Athena then finds a man that appears to be Iori tied up in knots and ties.

"It seems that I'm not visible to them, but I better not let my guard down" said Athena as she quietly steps backward to the man.

"_Listen to Me"_

Athena hears a negative voice...a voice that has come from the underworld.

She can feel shivers in her spine.

"_Make a blood pact with me...with this, Your power will increase...And become as powerful as Orochis."_ said the voice of the Orochi.

"_KILL KUSANAGI!" _the Orochi commanded

"_You are no longer Yasagami, as you have become a part of the Orochi...YAGAMI."_

_I'll face it  
`Cause it's the heart of everything_

Athena was frozen, she could not do anything, and she could only stare at the Devil's act.

_Open up your eyes  
Save yourself from fading away now  
Don't let it go  
Open up your eyes  
See what you've become, don't sacrifice  
It's truly the heart of everything  
Open up your eyes_

Suddenly, the dream started to blank out again, she hears the boy crying again.

"Where are you? Why are you now hiding from me?" shouted Athena through the dream.

The boy still cried in sorrow, he needed someone at this moment, and Athena is running though the dream to reach the crying boy.

But then the background of the dream changed to something dark, bloody, gory and demented.

Athena sees Iori standing by a broken window, in his hand is a body of a man...bleeding endlessly as Iori holds his head tightly that blood has also gushed out from the head.

Her fright of the sight has caused her to back out for a bit but has never turned her head.

_Open up your eyes  
Save yourself from fading away now  
Don't let it go  
Open up your eyes  
See what you've become, don't sacrifice  
It's truly the heart of everything  
Open up your eyes_

The background changes again and the boy's cries is heard again.

"Hello? Hello?" Athena couldn't reason out at why she kept running for the crying boy.

But suddenly she finds him in front of her. In his knees, his tears are streaming down, as he covers his eyes with his palms.

"Why did you run away from me?" she asked, still tired from the chase.

"I'm here to help, please listen." Athena's voice started to be calmer.

Athena stared at the boy for a while.

"Are you alone, little boy?" she asked.

The boy then stared at her in return.

"You seem to be alone, you don't have your parents with you?"

the boy shook his head

"Do you know anyone whom is your friend?"

the boy shook his head again, he sniffled, but for some reason, he started to feel safer around Athena.

Athena stood in front of the boy, she was ready to tear up again.

"You poor child." She said, with a tone of comfort.

"You didn't deserve this, You need something that is much more than anything in the world...would you like to know what it is?" asked Athena.

The boy nodded in curiosity

"Love...you need love...You are empty without it...you won't live long if there is no love in your heart..." said Athena. "And..."

The boy stared at her.

"You're not alone in this cruel world...You need a friend, someone to take care of you...there will always be good people and bad people"

Athena then felt her tears run slowly through her left cheek.

"Come here," she said with her arms open to the boy.

"Let me show you the happy reality of Life"

The boy took some seconds to think, but unexpectedly, the boy had embraced her

"Thank You" he said.

Athena kept holding the boy in her arms.

"By the way..."What is your name?"

"My name is _"

"I'm sorry what?" the dream is starting to fade out

"Iori...Iori Yagami, Miss" said the boy.

Athena was shocked to hear but at the moment, a light knocked her out, but was an awakening to a dream that she was having as she rose from her own bed.

"_That's it...so he was Iori this whole time..."_ thought Athena

"_I'm glad to be able to converse with his younger self, but...I hope he'll be ok, I hope..."  
_


End file.
